Introduction
Homosexuality pertains to the sexual attitude or inclination between people of the same sex. Seen from the perspective of sexual orientation, homosexuality is “a lasting pattern of or inclination to encounter sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions predominantly to people of the same sex; it also relates to an individual’s conception of personal and social mark steeped in those attractions, attitudes expressing them, and membership in a society of others who concur them” (Feray, Jean-Claude; Herzer, Manfred, “Homosexual Studies and Politics in the 19th Century: Karl Maria Kertbeny). While sexual orientation covers merely the heterosexual and homosexual along with vast range, homosexuality is different from heterosexuality, which is predominantly opposite-sex attraction, and bisexuality, which is an intense degree of attraction to both sexes. Homosexuality has been derived from the combination of Greek and Latin words, hybrid and homos. Gay refers to male homosexuality and lesbian is about female one. Homosexual behavior happens among a vast variety of nonhuman creatures and especially among social animals.
Explainations of homosexuality
Homosexuality has been a part of human culture since the dawn of human civilization. In Greece, sexual satisfaction between males was a cultural norm. However, the coming of Christianity gave a death blow to the cultural acceptance of homosexuality and it was widely condemned. It was taken as a crime against humanity and transgression of the law of nature. Homosexuality has always been a controversial issue. On one side, organizations are stressing the welfare of homosexuals and endeavoring to extract concessions in public policy, on the other hand, religious communities are quick to condemn them in the harshest possible manner. This schism has continued to pravail. From the last twenty years onwards, a view continues to dominate in the medical and psychiatric domain, which evaluates such attitude as an index of a kind of a person with a measured and comparatively stable sexual orientation. In the last century, homosexuality has come under increased concentration and has been the topic of many debates and parleys. This has begun to happen so particularly after the launching of the modern gay rights movement in 1969.
It was once taken as pathological or mental illness to be treated by experts. However, the trend seems to be changing now. Now it is probed as part of a bigger incentive to comprehend the biology, politics, genetics, psychology, history, and cultural metamorphosis of sexual practice and identity. The American Academy of Pediatrics has opined that “ “sexual orientation perhaps is not evaluated by one variant but by the synthesis of genetic, hormonal, and environmental impacts and to explore for just one factor as the basis of the homosexuality is quite wrong and bereft of medical logic” (Havelock & Symonds, John Addington, Sexual Inversion).
On the other hand, the American psychological association has given the viewpoint that there are multiple reasons for a man to be homosexual and they may also vary from case to case. It also thinks that the majority of the people having such tendencies can be evaluated at an early age. The American psychiatric association has its distinct view, “Uptill now, there is no empirical scientific study backing any particular biological etiology for homosexuality; similarly, no particular psycho-social or family dynamic reason for homosexuality has been unearthed, including histories of childhood sexual misuse” (Gibson, P. (“Gay and Lesbian Youth Suicide”, in Fenleib, Marcia R. (ed.), Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Youth Suicide). The extent to which sexual orientation is gauged by genetics or other prenatal variants contributes to political and social parleys about homosexuality and also evokes scare about genetic profiling and parental testing.
There are biological explanations too. In 1993, a scientist identified the genetic marker xq28 on the x chromosome. He unearthed a link between this and homosexuality. However, the initial study outcomes are contentious. Many alterations in the character of genes have been marked, however, when a changed male fruit fly is detached from only female fruit flies, then he will endeavor to mate with them. A couple of studies have indicated that genes may propel a person to have inclinations with men or women of the same sex. These studies stress that genes are instrumental in homosexuality. Hamer said that from twin studies we can glean the information that half or more of the alteration in the sexual attitude is not transferred from parent to the progeny. The studies emphasizing the genetic factors do not suggest that psychological factors are being missed and negated. They are also important and they have their worth. We should not move with one at the cost of the other. There should be a balanced and cautious focus on both to know how much they contribute to homosexuality. There is a theory named parental hormonal theory which explains homosexuality in its typical style. The hormonal identity of sexuality suggests that nearness to particular hormones contributes to fetal sex differentiation, such inclination also infuses the sexual orientation later in the adult.
Recent studies have come up with surprising notions that there are psychological differences between gay and lesbians. It has been witnessed as they seem to suggest that, “The average size of the INAH-3 in the brains of gay men is nearly equal to INAH 3 in women, which is noticeably smaller, and the cells more congested packed, than in heterosexual men’s brains and the suprachiasmatic nucleus was taken to be larger in gay men than in non-gay men; the suprachiasmatic nucleus is also known to be larger in men than in women; the anterior commissure is bigger in women, and larger in gay men.”( Ellis, Havelock & Symonds, John Addington, Sexual Inversion). It is also said that gay men have on average greater and longer penises than non-gay men… Gay men s’ brains react in a typical way to fluoxetine. The working of the inner ear and the central auditory system in lesbians and bisexual women are identical like the working qualities found in men than in non-gay women. The researchers also stress that this fact is commensurate with the parental theory of sexual orientation. Three areas of the brain work more efficiently in gay men when they are put before the sex-invoking substance. Gay and non-gay radiate different armpit smells.
There are greater chances that gay men will have a counter-clockwise whorl hair model. Finger length ratio occurs differently in both classifications. Another set of studies have revealed startling facts about the inside world of gays and lesbians and how they differ from other normal human beings. Gay men and the lesbian are likely to be left-handed or they can work with both hands than non-gay and non-lesbians. It is also compatible with the notion that sexual orientation is impacted by parental processes. There are also more chances of their being more fluent verbally than their counterparts on the other side of the spectrum. When it comes to object location memory, gay men tend to touch more scores. “There is evidence from several studies that homosexual men incline to have more older brothers than do heterosexual men, named as the fraternal birth order effect; one noticed that each older brother maximizes the stranges of being gay by 33%; it has been suggested that male fetuses entice a maternal immune reaction that is strengthed with each successive male fetus” (Allen LS, Gorski RA, “Sexual orientation and the size of the anterior commissure in the human brain”) It is this antigen which parental (maternal) antibodies are supposed to respond and remember. These are the observations acclaimed true only for right-handed males.
There are non-biological explanations too which are overwhelmingly environmental. Researchers have revealed that childhood gender non-conformity is the biggest forecaster of homosexuality in the coming age especially that of adulthood. Daily Bems’ exotic becomes erotic theory holds that “Some children will choose activities that are especial with other sex and that this will force a gender-compatible child feel different from opposite-sex children, while gender-noncompatible children will realize different from children of their sex, which may entice physiological upheaval when the child is near members of the sex which it takes into account as “different”, which will later be changed into sexual upheaval” (Weeks, Jeff (January, Sex, Politics and Society: The Regulation of Sexuality Since 1800.). Peter Bearman has indicated that males with a female twin are more likely to have similar sexual inclinations. He suggests that parents of the opposite sex twins will give them more unisex cure, which will end up less masculine impact on the males.
If u have an older brother, there are fewer chances of being homosexual. Bearman says that an older brother helps in making gender-socializing techniques for the younger brother to make up for the unisex cure. There has also been a Chinese study with revealing outcomes. It says that parental protection is supposed to be the greater vulnerability factor in the grooming of homosexual males. The cardinal variants in the development of homosexuals were parental closeness, introversion, and neurotic traits. There are also the well-researched findings that gay men have not loved rather repulsive fathers and they were more attached with their mothers and in the long course the attitudes of their fathers were highly instrumental in embracing the inclination with the member of the same sex. The queer behavior meted out to them makes them vulnerable to such tendencies and they at last give in and adopt this attitude. This is the most unfortunate that some parents do not treat their siblings well and eventually, such behaviors are born which society further condemns and the misery of these people with already a lot of unpleasant memories at their disposal is doubled.
Conclusion
Various studies provide their version of the origination of homosexuality. There is a need to undertake big research to converge the results of already held studies. Though at times the findings of the studies are compatible there are issues of divergences too which cast doubt on the authenticity of the findings of the studies. There is a dire need to correct that social behavior that is instrumental in engendering the homosexual attitude. The parents should rectify their ways and manners towards their kids and this is for those who do not treat them well. Both mother and father should combine their efforts for proper care. If a sibling is attached with only one of them it is also a dangerous sign and must be avoided under all circumstances.
Various other groups like NGOs and civil society should also work for the welfare of these people who have gone astray and there should also be proper arrangements for their treatment. Humanity with such bent of mind if created with our negligence must be cured and the underlying causes of the production of this attitude must be removed. The public sector should invest more in the research so that we can know more about homosexuality and fill the gaps in our knowledge about them. There is a need to take proper care of those who drop out of the mainstream and become the focus of all criticism and are thus marginalized. Concerted efforts must be undertaken to monitor the development of those tendencies. If possible, these should be checked in the very beginning. There are some indicators available that guide us in this regard. More and more awareness needs to be created. There is no quick-fix solution to any problem and all things should be solved in a very prudent way after weighing all the pros and cons of each homosexual case.
References
Feray, Jean-Claude; Herzer, Manfred , “Homosexual Studies and Politics in the 19th Century: Karl Maria Kertbeny”. Journal of Homosexuality, Vol. 19, No. 1 Ellis, 1990.
Havelock & Symonds, John Addington, Sexual Inversion, Arno Press, (reprint).1975.
Ellis, Havelock & Symonds, John Addington, Sexual Inversion, Arno Press, (reprint)1975.
Weeks, Jeff. Sex, Politics and Society: The Regulation of Sexuality Since 1800. London: Longman Publishing Group. 1981.
Allen LS, Gorski RA, “Sexual orientation and the size of the anterior commissure in the human brain”. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 89 (15): 7199–202. 1992.
Gibson, P. (“Gay and Lesbian Youth Suicide”, in Fenleib, Marcia R. (ed.), Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Youth Suicide, United States Government Printing Office, 1989.